Project:

Genetic Differences Between Mosses on the North and South Sides of Trees

Students:

Ayelet Kornblau, Shira Kornblau, Leah Hersh

School:

Yeshiva University High School for Girls, Queens

Mentors:

Shulamith Biderman

Abstract:

Moss thrives in moist, shaded places because it is less likely to dehydrate. In the northern hemisphere, the north sides of trees are more shaded from the sun, and due to this there is usually more moss on the northside. Research and our own observations note that there tends to be more moss on the north side of a tree as opposed to the south side. This project aims to determine if there are genetic differences between the moss on the north and south side of trees due to the difference in shade they receive. In order to research this, we will collect moss from local areas in New York City, extract the chloroplast DNA and send it to a laboratory to be sequenced. Once we obtain the genetic sequence, we will analyze it for any genetic differences. There are two possibilities for what we might find; the first is that there is a small but significant genetic difference due to the slight difference of the environments based on their location on the tree, and the second possibility is that th

Poster:

Team samples: